DJ Scully (Dead Empires)
SPB: How did including a vocalist change your songwriting approach? Did it?
Scully: Ironically, adding Jason didn't change anything for us writing-wise because we thought the album was done before he joined! We had probably 90% of it written and arranged and we were making plans for where to record it when Jason came on board. Initially, our idea was to have him guest on a song or two, but after he gave us his first demo it was obvious he needed to be a bigger part of the whole thing. Before Jason joined, JB, Phil and I all had ideas on what we would potentially want from the vocals if we were ever to go that route. Once he joined, we had even more specific ideas about various parts, but we kept them to ourselves so we wouldn't box him in.
Everything Jason did was completely different and infinitely better than what any of us thought we wanted. He basically came in and added his vocals, noise and synths to what already existed. That his parts fit so seamlessly is a testament to his creativity and fearlessness as an artist.
It's amazing that we ever thought the album was done BEFORE he showed up, because now we all feel like the album and the band have both been brought to another level entirely. We're beyond excited on getting to work on whatever's next as a foursome.
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Photo by Joseph Pelosi
